


Maybe Next Time

by watcherofworlds



Series: A Friendship Forged in Struggle [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-03
Updated: 2016-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-28 18:40:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8458225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watcherofworlds/pseuds/watcherofworlds
Summary: Steve accompanies Bucky on yet another double date where, as has become the norm for him, he is ignored by the girl who is supposed to be his date, in this particular instance mostly because he doesn't know how to dance. At the end of the night Bucky finds him and expresses hope that things will be better for him the next time around.





	

_July 11, 1933_

It was a sweltering day, hot in the way only July days could be. In defiance of the heat, Bucky and a group of friends were in the middle of an impromptu soccer game, using 2 pairs of rocks spaced 5 yards apart as goals. Steve watched dejectedly from the sidelines, doodling in the notebook Bucky had given him for his birthday a week ago and trying to ignore the sun beating down on the back of his neck. The latest in a long string of Bucky's girlfriends stood a short distance away, yelling and cheering and jumping up and down.

"Yeah!" she called "Go James go!"

She insisted on calling him James for some reason, and Steve wondered where she had even learned the name, as no one outside of Bucky's family had called him James since elementary school. Lost in thought as he was, it took Steve a moment to realize that he couldn't hear the soccer game going on anymore. He glanced up and, sure enough, the players were sprawled out on the grass, the ball sitting abandoned nearby. As Steve watched, Bucky got up off the ground and jogged over to his girlfriend. How he could have been playing soccer in this heat and still have the energy to move at any pace faster than a crawl, Steve didn't know.

"Hey beautiful," Bucky said. "We still on for tonight?" His girlfriend giggled.

"Of course silly!" she said.

"That reminds me," Bucky said."Hey Steve! Over here!"

Steve sighed, tucked his pencil into the spine of his notebook, shut it with a snap, and went over.

"What do you want Bucky?" he asked tiredly. Bucky opened his mouth to reply, but his girlfriend interrupted him.

"Hi!" she chirped. "You're Steve, right? James has told me so much about you! But he never told me how adorable you are! You're so small! You're just like a little puppy dog!"

Steve frowned in bewilderment. He'd been called a lot of different things by a lot of Bucky's girlfriends, but "adorable" was a new one. He glanced over at Bucky. He was trying not to laugh. Steve cleared his throat.

"Yeah, well, it's nice to meet you," he said.

"Oh it's nice to meet you too!" Bucky's girlfriend said. "James and I are going dancing tonight!"

"Yes, and you're coming," Bucky said, finally managing to get a word in edgewise.

"Oh _come on_ Buck," Steve groaned. "Double dates never work out for me. I _always_ end up getting ignored."

"I don't want to hear any arguments!" Bucky shouted, though his tone was lighthearted. "I'm going to get you a girl if it kills me. I'll be at your house at 8. I expect you to be ready." Steve sighed.

"Fine," he grumbled. "But don't be surprised when my date shuns me completely and you end up having to entertain two girls at once."

"Ok by me," Bucky said with a grin. "Listen, I have to walk Grace home, but I'll see you later, ok?" He studied Steve's face intently, making sure, as he always did, that he was okay.

"I'm fine Buck," Steve said, answering his unspoken question. "See you later."

"Later," was Bucky's relieved reply. With those words, the two friends parted ways.

...

At quarter to 8 Steve stood on his porch waiting for Bucky. He'd dressed up, as much as he could-he'd combed his hair and he was wearing his church shoes, the nicest ones he owned. He ran his fingers nervously through his hair and hoped he didn't smell too strongly of shoe polish;his mother hadn't let him leave the apartment until his shoes were so shiny that he could himself in them. He shifted from one foot to the other and glanced at his watch. 10 minutes to 8. He couldn't believe it had only been five minutes. It felt like he's been waiting for hours. He glanced down the walkway that led to his porch, as if doing so would make Bucky appear there. he looked at the front door of his apartment and wondered if maybe he shouldn't go back inside and forget this whole thing. He had his hand on the doorknob when he heard Bucky's voice call his name. He turned.Sure enough, there was Bucky, standing at the bottom of the porch steps, his arms crossed, a look of mock outrage on his face.

"What's the big idea?" he asked. "You weren't thinking of skipping out on me were you?"

"No, not at all," Steve said quickly. Bucky laughed.

"You're a terrible liar," he told his friend as he started down the walkway.

"Where are the girls?" Steve asked, falling into step beside him.

"They're meeting us there," Bucky replied. Steve nodded and they continued on the rest of the way in silence. Before long they arrived at a dance hall. There were two girls standing in front of it. Steve recognized one as Bucky's girlfriend Grace, but the other was a stranger to him. Seeing them, Grace waved a hand over her head to get their attention. Bucky went over, his hand on Steve's shoulder in case he was thinking of escaping(he wasn't).

"This is Marissa." Grace told Steve, introducing him to her friend. Marissa was small and petite, with straw blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes.

"Well, would you look at that," Steve remarked. "You finally found me a girl my own size."

Marissa winced and Steve realized how insensitive that comment was.

"I'm sorry," he told her shyly.

"It's fine," Marissa replied, although her tone suggested that it wasn't. "Now, can we go?"

"Of course," Bucky said, gesturing toward the door of the dance hall. "Steve, Marissa, after you."

"Why do I have to go first?" Steve muttered, but didn't argue. Once inside, they stood off to one side in awkward silence, Steve alternating between staring at his shoes and the ceiling, Marissa casting sideways glances at Bucky and Grace, who were in the middle of a huge group of people on the dance floor, dancing like maniacs and just generally having a grand old time.

Finally Marissa asked, "Aren't we going to dance?" Steve blushed.

"I don't know how," he said quietly. Marissa snorted.

"Does your friend know how to dance?" she asked.

"Yes," Steve replied. He didn't bother to point out that she shouldn't have even had to ask that question because to do so would have been rude, and his mother had taught him better than that. Marissa looked over at Bucky, then at Steve, then back at Bucky.

"Oh go ahead," Steve sighed. Marissa brightened.

"Really?" she asked. "You don't mind?"

"Not at all," Steve assured her."It happens all the time anyway."

Marissa darted over to Bucky, who greeted her loudly, then said something to the rest of the group that made them cheer as they welcomed her in. He glanced over at Steve, who shrugged. Steve went outside and sat down on a bench near the curb with a sigh. He pulled out his notebook and began sketching absentmindedly, not really paying attention to what he was doing. It was only when he glanced down at his drawing a few minutes later that he realized he'd drawn Bucky surrounded by a group of people that included Marissa and Grace, with the words _Must I always live in your shadow?_ written underneath it. He continued sketching other, more random things to try and take his mind off of it. After about an hour of this he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, and there was Bucky.

"You okay Steve?" he asked. "Did you have any fun?" Steve shook his head.

"Did you get ignored again?" Steve nodded, altough he was fairly certain Bucky already knew the answer to that question.

"That's okay," Bucky said. "Maybe next time."

"Yeah," Steve replied. "Maybe next time."

And, with that, the two friends headed home.


End file.
